EOD sergeant receives Bronze Star Medal for outstanding performance

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Julius Delos Reyes
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  An explosive ordnance division sergeant received a Bronze Star Medal for his performance during his deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Master Sgt. David Larriva, 95th Civil Engineering and Transportation Directorate Explosive Ordnance Division chief, received a Bronze Star Medal during an award ceremony here Oct. 9.

Col. Bryan Gallagher, 95th Air Base Wing commander, presented the medal to Sergeant Larriva.

"I feel really honored," Sergeant Larriva said. "I know other recipients and what they experienced to receive that. I am proud to be with that company."

Sergeant Larriva received the medal for his performance during his deployment from Aug. 1, 2006, through Jan. 17, 2007, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Then-Tech. Sgt. David Larriva was stationed at the 332nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight as part of the quick response force EOD team. Every time forces outside the wire called in roadside bombs, improvised explosive devices, weapons caches and more, Sergeant Larriva's team was tasked to go out there.

Performing his job was everything but routine.

"My job is extremely dangerous," Sergeant Larriva said. "All the guys over there got shot at numerous times. Everyone had their vehicles hit by IEDs."

Though extremely dangerous, Sergeant Larriva said he got used to it.

"You expect it," he said. "Your training kicks in. You just know how to react during those times."

Aside from the bombs and IEDs, Sergeant Larriva also has to think about his surroundings, enemy snipers, civilians and his comrades.

"However, you just take in the whole situation," he said.

During his deployment, Sergeant Larriva was always placed in dangerous situations. There is one mission in particular that he remembers -- one of the missions earning him the Bronze Star.

It was quiet that night, he observed. His team received a call -- their third one for the day.

The call was for an IED on Route Gold in Baqubah, Iraq. Army forces were heading back from a combat patrol in Buhriz, an enemy-saturated area. They were taking Route Gold, a strip of land with two canals on each side, when they spotted an IED. They had to pull back and wait for EOD to remove the explosive device.

"It was the worst route you could have gone," Sergeant Larriva said.

Sergeant Larriva and his two other teammates arrived shortly.

Because it was nighttime, the team used flashlights and strained their eyes to look for other IEDs. To perform their sweeps, Sergeant Larriva and his team needed to make sure the first couple steps were clear, and then proceed to make sure the rest of the area was safe.

"It was scary when you get to a situation like that," he said.

As the sergeant was performing his sweeps, he found another IED.

"IED," he yelled, and pushed the team back to a safe distance. His team were about to send one of their robots when they found out it was broken.

With resourcefulness and quick-thinking, Sergeant Larriva came up with a plan.

On an armored vehicle, Sergeant Larriva used a tripod from one of their antennas to place a demolition charge at the end of it. Aboard his vehicle, he approached within 10 feet of the IED and dropped the demolition charge to the IED to disrupt the enemy device.

"Luckily, it worked," he said. "It disrupted the IED and we were able to go ahead."

They used the same technique to place the charge to the original IED.

Sergeant Larriva said though his job is dangerous, he doesn't really get scared or nervous.

The training he received over his entire career and prior to deployments has been beneficial, he said. It helped to reinforce the basic fundamentals applicable to all EOD situations.

No matter what the situations are, Sergeant Larriva said his job is exciting.

"I absolutely love my job," he said. "It is more than a job. EOD is a brotherhood that extends beyond the duty day. It is the ultimate trust being part of a team that defuse bombs."